WHAT THE IPCC SPECIAL REPORT ON GLOBAL WARMING OF 1.5°C MEANS FOR CITIES URBAN POLICY MAKERS

WHAT THE IPCC SPECIAL REPORT ON GLOBAL WARMING OF 1.5°C MEANS FOR CITIES URBAN POLICY MAKERS

S U M M A R Y F O R DECEMBER 2018

The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5)1
is one of the most scrutinised public scientific reports of
the early 21st century. Based on an assessment of over
six thousand recent scientific papers and documents,
its production included three rounds of review and
responses to over forty thousand comments by national
governments, non-governmental organizations, city
networks, civil society, and experts from all regions of the
world.
The rigor of the science behind SR1.5 is matched by its
arresting findings. Climate change represents a grave
threat to the planet. The world has already warmed by
1.0°C above pre-industrial levels due to human activities
and is experiencing the related impacts. Every tenth of a
degree matters. At the current rate of warming of 0.2°C per
decade, global warming will reach 1.5°C between 2030 and
2050.